The loud rumble of heavy farm machinery in 'our' barley field heralds the start of some fun.
Farmer T drives the combine harvester and is followed by his mother, Mrs T Snr, driving her red tractor and wagon.
They grow 'em tough in Little Bunting, for Mrs T is in her early 70's and still puts in a full day of farm work. She works as many hours as her son, driving the tractor and wagon back and forth. I like her, I wish I had her stamina.
They toil late into the evening, trying to beat the wet weather which is forecast.
Things change when the barley has gone, before ploughing begins.
First of all, we can begin to use this little gate. It leads directly into the huge barley field, which means that silly-billy Dobson will have a couple of weeks of stress-free walks, no need to walk along the lane before turning into the field.
photograph stolen from my brother, Mr Whiskerburn.
It also means that these bad boys will come visiting, as the annual Enduro motorbike race will probably go ahead in the village. There will be a weekend of noise, dust, and activity in our little village. Some people hate it, I find that I quite enjoy it.
Sorry, Mr Whiskerburn, yours again.x
They only race around the harvested barley fields for a couple of hours at a time and it raises a hefty chunk of much needed money for the Little Bunting village fund.
Thanks, Mr W.
Let the fun begin!
I was sat outside at 11pm last night watching the barn owl and listening to the combines, gorgeous night. This year it's all being done by contractors so we don't have the ancient grain dryer next to us running , so no 24hr hum or the endless dust
ReplyDeleteIt was a lovely night, Kate, lucky you seeing a barn owl.
ReplyDeleteOne evening, a few years ago, a barn owl was flying around the margins of 'our' field, s/he turned her head and looked straight at me; that moment of connection was amazing and is still powerful. They've been harvesting for the last 3 hours, now a sprinkle of rain has stopped play. It has suddenly become very peaceful.